The Incredible Shrinking Woman

Does anyone remember this movie?

I've only seen it once, when I was about six or seven. It's one of those movies that has stuck with me for life, for whatever reason -- in this case, because it made me incredibly sad for days afterward.

I'm not even sure why I had that reaction because I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a comedy.

by Anonymous

reply 62

01/16/2013

I've seen it about 40 times -- largely thanks to HBO, circa 1981.

It's hilarious, very dated, but hilarious. Love the pastel color scheme, the young Pamela Bellwood, the gorilla, and Lily.

by Anonymous

reply 1

03/03/2012

It was more fun than sitting in an over-sized rocking chair.

by Anonymous

reply 2

03/03/2012

Like you, I haven't seen it since I was a little kid, so I don't remember much except that it was corny.

by Anonymous

reply 3

03/03/2012

Galaxy Glue! Galaxy Glue! What would we do without Galaxy Glue? Galaxy Glue! Galaxy Glue! Life would go to pieces without Galaxy Glue.

by Anonymous

reply 4

03/03/2012

Does something sad happen to her during the movie? I'm trying to recall why my response to it was so overwrought at the time. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it sent my 7-year old self into a tailspin. LOL

by Anonymous

reply 5

03/03/2012

Big fat women once were fertility goddesses. Then curvy women with small waists and big bust and hips. Now women are told skeleton stick bodies with big heads and infant, baby faces are ideal. The next step is women as fetus. Then I guess women disappear somehow. Studies have been done about this regression. No one knows why this is happening. But it's what is happening. Better this than the burka. Good luck.

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

by Anonymous

reply 6

03/03/2012

CONCEPCION!!!!!

by Anonymous

reply 7

03/03/2012

Love the Galaxy Glue theme song and my brother, sister and I still sing "I wish I were a little bar of soap."

Don't know if you can stream it anywhere but you can buy the DVD from amazon, though th reviews aren't great.

by Anonymous

reply 8

03/03/2012

R7 That's right! I forgot about the garbage disposal!

by Anonymous

reply 9

03/03/2012

Charles Grodin could make anyone sad, OP.

It was a fun film, though. It's interesting that in 1980 Lily Tomlin, who was even then middle aged, somewhat unattractive, a lesbian, and not sexy in any way could be cast as a lead in this film. With Charles Grodin, of all people.

I saw it several times in the theater though I was a few years older, OP. It was the double feature on a number of films in that time period. I"m pretty sure I saw it with 9 to 5.

by Anonymous

reply 10

03/03/2012

Near the end of the film, she is assumed dead and her family holds a funeral for her in the back yard - could that have been what upset you OP? It's kind of like when ET dies before coming back to life.

by Anonymous

reply 11

03/03/2012

[quote] It's interesting that in 1980 Lily Tomlin, who was even then middle aged, somewhat unattractive, a lesbian, and not sexy in any way could be cast as a lead in this film

Jane Wagner, Lily's partner, wrote and directed it so it's really not that surprising.

by Anonymous

reply 12

03/03/2012

Sure, but it got filmed and distributed. That's not something that could happen now.

by Anonymous

reply 13

03/03/2012

I must have seen this countless times as well [R1]! On HBO/Cinemax in the early 80's it was shown constantly along with Flash Gordon, Roller Boogie,Scavenger Hunt, Modern Problems, etc..

by Anonymous

reply 14

03/03/2012

I loved this film, need to see it again.

by Anonymous

reply 15

03/03/2012

Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap

Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap

Oh I'd slippy and I'd slidey over everybody's hiney

Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap

by Anonymous

reply 16

03/03/2012

OP I loved that movie. There are several sad parts and at the end when they are happy thinking everything is back to normal - the camera pans down to her foot and her shoe splits open, so now she is growing bigger and it ends so you know everything is not going to be OK. I was very shocked and depressed about the garbage disposal scene and the funeral - anyway I think LT is a comedic genius with perfect timing and I've always enjoyed her movies and performances.

by Anonymous

reply 17

03/03/2012

It is sad because it's a tragedy disguised as a comedy. Suburban life sucks the life out of her til there's nothing left.

I really thought Tomlin would take-off after this and "Nine To Five". But she picked some lackluster projects, disappeared for a while, then ended-up in supporting roles in other people's movies.

by Anonymous

reply 18

03/03/2012

Oh, I misread it as The Incredible Stinking Woman...

by Anonymous

reply 19

03/03/2012

I liked the trailer better than the movie. Lily wanted to do the movie in 3-D which explains a lot of the "splash" moments.

by Anonymous

reply 20

03/03/2012

[quote]I really thought Tomlin would take-off after this and "Nine To Five". But she picked some lackluster projects, disappeared for a while, then ended-up in supporting roles in other people's movies.

Her problem is that she should have stuck with "tough woman" roles (like 9 to 5) or roles where she wasn't playing a wife because lets face it, she was not attractive enough for that type of role.

by Anonymous

reply 21

03/03/2012

I love Lily Tomlin, but this movie was very amateurish.

I did like the Mrs. Judith Beasley character.

by Anonymous

reply 22

03/03/2012

"Look Mom, DISCO!"

Love " Consepscions" transformation into a hot woman.

Lilys ride on a skateboard was pretty funny.

"Now isn't that a comfort?"

Best movie I want released on DVD!

by Anonymous

reply 23

03/03/2012

She's not nearly as unattractive as some of the unattractive men who play husbands.

by Anonymous

reply 24

03/03/2012

The above clues are helpful and I do remember them, especially the ending, which did not feel like a happy ending to me at all.

And yet ... something about jeans. Does something happen with her jeans?

by Anonymous

reply 25

03/03/2012

I think this movie should get more credit. Underneath the absurdity, there's a serious message about the effects of the over-processed crap we put in our systems, the pollutants in cleaning products and the stultifying boredom of being a suburban housewife. I think it's a misunderstood classic. And yes, OP, I understand why you found it a bit scary as a kid. I did too.

by Anonymous

reply 26

03/03/2012

Drag queen doing Mrs. Judith Beasley:

by Anonymous

reply 27

03/03/2012

Galaxy glue, galaxy glue...

by Anonymous

reply 28

03/03/2012

[quote] Sure, but it got filmed and distributed. That's not something that could happen now.

Of course it would if the person was a big enough star, as Lily was at the time.

by Anonymous

reply 29

03/03/2012

I never realized it when I watched it over and over as a kid in the 80s, but the actress who played the evil Dr. Ruth Ruth also played Lily Tomlin's nemesis Roz in Nine To Five.

by Anonymous

reply 30

03/03/2012

Lazy bitches.

by Anonymous

reply 31

03/03/2012

I remember it being very weird, and although funny in parts, it gave me the creeps and ultimately left me feeling quite sad.

by Anonymous

reply 32

03/03/2012

I do not remember how that movie ended at all. Did she die?

When I was a child, that movie was on cable all the time.

Concepción still works a bit. She is Geraldine (Warhol acolyte) Smith's sister.

by Anonymous

reply 33

03/03/2012

I remember a scene where her family is fighting & shouting amongst themselves, and Lily, now shrunken, tries to maintain some discipline but her children & husband now ignore hollers of a call to order her because she's the size of a titmouse. Funny & painful because it vividly illustrated her loss of power.

by Anonymous

reply 34

03/03/2012

[quote]Oh I'd slippy and I'd slidey over everybody's hiney

I remember a family in my church telling me they walked out of the movie because they were offended that their precious children heard the word "hiney".

by Anonymous

reply 35

03/03/2012

[quote]Oh I'd slippy and I'd slidey over everybody's hiney

I thought the lyric was "hymie"

by Anonymous

reply 36

03/03/2012

Probably not for the same reason you thought it was sad, OP, but I couldn't watch it when it was new and have never seen more than the first few minutes.

The premise just made me sick that someone would shrink to the point they would have to be terrified of cats and rats and dogs and even mice and could never hug someone or be person in the world again.

I just hated the whole idea of it, and thought there was nothing funny about someone being at the mercy of the world and having to live outside society like that.

by Anonymous

reply 37

03/03/2012

[quote]I was very shocked and depressed about the garbage disposal scene and the funeral

I was a kid when I saw this movie as well - around six or seven - and the garbage disposal scene is what I remember once. I found it terrifying. I also distinctly remember the garbage compressor scene from stars wars. That frighten the shit out of me too.

by Anonymous

reply 38

03/04/2012

Jesus [R37] take a pill. It going to be ok!

by Anonymous

reply 39

03/04/2012

Wow haven't thought of this movie in years. In fact, in the 80's I met Jane and Lily in NY and had the movie poster signed by them. By the way the DVD is now available at Amazon as part of Universal's "Made On Demand" label where they burn the DVD when you order it instead of producing a lot that sit on store shelves. All the studios do this with their lesser titles now.

by Anonymous

reply 40

03/04/2012

I always wanted a live in maid named Conceptione after this movie. I loved her hot pants after fame hit the family. Still sing the galaxy glue song too. Big business is another hilarious movie about an evil corporation lying to a small town.. interesting topics. Maybe these helped me to be a democrat caring about the little people???

by Anonymous

reply 41

03/04/2012

I remember going to see this movie in the theatre and, with Lily Tomlin starring, expecting it to be hysterically funny and my friends and I did not laugh once. Awful film, boring, pretentious, and a waste of time and money.

by Anonymous

reply 42

03/04/2012

[quote] By the way the DVD is now available at Amazon as part of Universal's "Made On Demand" label where they burn the DVD when you order it instead of producing a lot that sit on store shelves. All the studios do this with their lesser titles now.

Paramount hasn't started doing that yet.

by Anonymous

reply 43

03/04/2012

Love this movie! Just like r1 said. Over and over again on HBO.

by Anonymous

reply 44

03/04/2012

R10, are you aware of what real women look like? Lily Tomlin, not Pamela Anderson. And if Charles Grodin is your movie husband, you could look like Kaye Ballard and be acceptable. The lesbian part is besides the point.

by Anonymous

reply 45

03/04/2012

With such ugly parents, the children were adorable.

Don't you just love movie genetics?

by Anonymous

reply 46

03/04/2012

When I was a child, my mother told us the Incredibly Shrinking Woman would walk up our butts and scrub them down if we didn't wash properly.

Scared the hell out of me. I kept a Ban Roll On container up there so she couldn't get in.

by Anonymous

reply 47

03/04/2012

LOVE this movie. L-O-V-E. It used to be on Netflix.

by Anonymous

reply 48

01/13/2013

I liked the movie and remember having a 20 minute edited version on tape with all the best special effects scenes. Decades later, it took forever to find a decent copy of it download. I still don't think it's had a proper dvd release, just an official digital download. And it's pretty grainy, but better than nothing. When I finally did see it again, I was surprised that I do think it's funny too, the effects weren't all it had going for it. It's a good movie up to a certain point, when the bad guys sneak into the kitchen and kidnap her. The scenes with her at the lab are boring and laughless. And the guy in the monkey suit turned it into a lame Disney comedy for rugrats. Still, the movie seems to be very under-appreciated, it's quite good before that last 20 minutes.

by Anonymous

reply 49

01/13/2013

Why are you talking about a forty year old film that no one liked in the first place?

by Anonymous

reply 50

01/13/2013

What about Moment by Moment? Is it on DVD?

by Anonymous

reply 51

01/13/2013

It's 30 yrs old, and obviously some us do like it, hence the thread. It's so otherworldly, its set design and effects were incredible. It's all done in pastel colors, even the cars. I guess a lot of people didn't get the postmodern humor, but it is funny too.

by Anonymous

reply 52

01/13/2013

"Ay, yi, yi,

Ay YI YI!"

by Anonymous

reply 53

01/13/2013

I think Lily Tomlin was/is a very good looking woman. I would wine and dine her in a heartbeat:)

by Anonymous

reply 54

01/13/2013

When it aired on ABC, they added in a scene with Edith Ann that was presumably dropped from the theatrical release. She was testing products. Lily in the hamster cage sees Edith Ann on one of the closed circuit TVs. With Sidney the gorilla's help, she manages to get over to the intercom and asks her to tell her parents that she's being held against her will. It doesn't work -- but it's funny!

by Anonymous

reply 55

01/13/2013

I loved Lily in "9 to 5". Smart, snarky, capable and willing to whatever it took to handle the situation.

Take a look at the very end of the garage door opener installation scene. You can see her feet as she is jumping up and down with excitement after she successfully installed the damn thing. Love the boots.

by Anonymous

reply 56

01/13/2013

Hey, r55! The Edith Ann scene WAS in the original theatrical release (she was locked in a room, and being forced to test breakfast cereals) but I have never seen it since...

by Anonymous

reply 57

01/13/2013

R53, I thought Lily said that on the skateboard!

by Anonymous

reply 58

01/13/2013

Charles Grodin was luck to have a woman's as good looking as Lily Tomlin as his wife. He's a frog.

by Anonymous

reply 59

01/13/2013

Then you can see her walk away from the actor playing her son. She thinks the scene is over, but it isn't.

by Anonymous

reply 60

01/13/2013

And Sally Kirkland as the cashier.

by Anonymous

reply 61

01/13/2013

R57, that is entirely and wholly incorrect.

I saw the film at least seven times in the theatre. That scene was never in it. The only time I have ever seen it was when the film aired on ABC. I held an old fashioned cassette recorder up to the speakers on my parents' TV. I listened to the cassette 200 times, memorizing the scene.

Get theDL Delivered - recaps of your favorite topics delivered to your email inbox twice a week. It's easy to subscribe and even easier to unsubscribe when you want to. Give it a try! It's free so why not? (Click Here for a sample.)

Choose which channels you want to receive (uncheck all to unsubscribe)

Gossip

Entertainment

Politics

Important: Once you save your settings the first time you will receive a confirmation email. Please check your mail and click on the link in the email to complete your subscription.

No, we will not share your email address with anyone or send you spam.